Jacob Shapiro

There is no shortage of information today. The harder part is knowing what to pay attention to, what to ignore, and what actually matters. In a world of infinite feeds, constant alerts, and AI-generated answers, the scarce skill is judgment: the ability to separate signals from noise, hold competing truths at once, and make decisions without perfect certainty. Shapiro has spent 15+ years doing exactly that in geopolitics, helping leaders understand which headlines matter, which risks are overblown, and when the map is quietly changing beneath their feet. Drawing from geopolitics, markets and AI, Shapiro explores the essential craft of deciding what matters when everything is competing for your attention.

Headlines are loud, urgent, and often scary, but they rarely explain the bigger forces quietly reshaping how the world works. The old global order is changing, energy systems are being rebuilt, and new technologies like AI, robotics, and biotech are moving from buzzwords to real business realities. Jacob helps leaders look past the noise of the present and understand how these shifts will impact their industries, supply chains, markets, and decisions over the next five years. Built uniquely for each industry or organization, this talk uses digestible data and clear frameworks to help audiences better understand risk, spot opportunity, and make smarter decisions about what comes next.

AI is usually framed as a software story, but Shapiro argues that the real story is geopolitical power. Behind every breakthrough are the physical systems AI depends on — data centers, energy grids, semiconductor supply chains, government policy, and the countries competing to control them. Shapiro explains why AI is less a standalone tool than a new operating layer for the global economy, one that will reshape industries, redistribute power, and create winners in places the headlines often miss. Drawing on his work tracking how geography and power move markets, as well as his own use of AI inside his research firm, he gives leaders a clearer map of where the technology is heading, who is likely to benefit, and what it means for their business, industry, and place in the world.